


The Misadventures of Nerd and Hot Girl

by NoirAngel011



Series: Misadventures [1]
Category: Booksmart (2019)
Genre: Amy comforts her, Amy is always there for her, Amy is protective and Hope loves her, Cuties, F/F, Fluff, Gigi being Gigi, Her parents don't really love her, Hope is lonely, Hope's hopeless, Hurt/Comfort, It's some serious issues that really need to be worked through in therapy, Nerd and Hot Girl, Nobody questions it, Road Trip, Sad, Sickfic, Useless Lesbians, cute girls, i love them, she cries, slight homophobia, so fucking much, story coming on that soon, wlw
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-27
Updated: 2020-04-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 16:21:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22430038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoirAngel011/pseuds/NoirAngel011
Summary: Amy and Hope are very gay and very in love. They love each other very much. Here's their adventures and the definition of true love. |Featured a lot of Soft!Hope, because she's a softie. And Amy loves hearing Hope laugh.
Relationships: Amy/Hope (Booksmart)
Series: Misadventures [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1654471
Comments: 13
Kudos: 114





	1. Loyalty and Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's Hope's 20th birthday party and this time she's the one crying in a bathroom, But Amy isn't about to let her party be ruined by her own parents, and steps in to cheer Hope up.

Amy didn’t expect to find her girlfriend crying in the hallway on her 20th birthday after taking a phone call.

Molly, Annabelle, Gigi, and some of Amy and Hope’s friends from college had thrown her a surprise birthday party. It was beautiful, and they were having so much fun, just a few close friends and lots of stolen alcohol. 

But Hope had gotten up to take a phone call in the hallway twenty minutes ago, and now she was on the ground with her back pressed up against the wall, crying.

“Hope, what’s wrong?” Amy kneeled down next to the taller girl, admittedly worried.

Hope didn’t answer, but her crying seemed to stifle.

“It’s okay, you can talk to me,” Amy whispered, resting a hand on Hope’s shoulder.

She had missed her newfound girlfriend so much while she was away in Botswana for a year, but now that she had her back, Amy was determined to make sure she was okay.

“My, my parents called.” Hope choked out. Amy’s heart shattered.

She knew Hope didn’t have a great relationship with her parents. They weren’t very supportive of their daughter being gay, or dating a girl, or going to college so far away in New York. Actually, that’s exactly why she had gone backpacking around Europe, Asia, and Australia (with a few ‘research’ stops in Africa) before landing herself as far away from LA as possible. Amy wrapped her arms around Hope, trying to calm her down.

“It’s my fucking birthday and I’m crying in the hallway because I’m just too sensitive.” Hope buried her face into Amy’s shoulder. 

“You’re not too sensitive, Hope. I promise. I love you, who gives a shit what your parents say.” Amy gently stroked Hope’s hair. Hope cuddled into her.

“I just want them to love me.” Hope sounded so broken, and Amy held her closer.

“They do, I promise. They’re just old fashioned, they don’t understand.” Amy kissed the top of her head.

“Take a minute to calm down and we’ll go back into the party. You don’t need to worry about them when we have great friends who support you inside waiting.”

Amy rubbed a hand up and down Hope’s back.

“But I have raccoon eyes,” Hope whined, looking up at Amy. Her makeup was smeared around her face from wiping at her eyes with her hands.

“Well lucky for you I go everywhere prepared.” Amy smiled, pulling out a small bag with makeup remover wipes and touch up makeup. Hope smiled.

“Thank you, I love you.” Hope took the bag from her and pushed herself up to her feet.

“Wow,” Amy whispered, looking up at her girlfriend.

“What?” Hope asked, puzzled.

She held out a hand to help Amy up.

“I just forget how freakishly tall you are,” Amy giggled, taking Hope’s hand and pulling herself up. She didn’t let go, instead intertwining her fingers with Hope’s.

They walked down the hall to the nearest bathroom, and Amy sat on the counter while Hope fixed her makeup.

“Do you think that the others are worried?” Amy asked, watching Hope reapply her mascara. She thought that Hope looked prettier without makeup, but Hope begged to differ. Especially at her birthday party.

The door burst open soon enough, causing both girls to jump with a scream. Amy was thankful that Hope had put the lid on her mascara.

“Who is hurting you!” Gigi pointed at Hope.

“Uhhhhh,” Hope stuttered, not used to Gigi’s loyal tendencies. 

“I said WHO? I WILL FIGHT THEM!! TO THE DEATH!” Gigi screamed.

“You don’t even know me!” was Hope’s excellent response. Amy snorted from the corner, stifling a laugh.

“Of course I do! You are my best friends girlfriend! Who hurt you!” Gigi was still being loud, but was quieter now. She threw an arm around Amy, shaking her in reference to her ‘best friend’. Amy smiled.

Amy liked this side of Gigi. The loyal, absolutely insane side. She was crazy, but she was willing to jump off boats for her friends. Literally, she had done that.

“It’s nothing Gigi. Nothing you could do. Just assholes all the way out in LA.” Hope shook her head, reaching to reapply her lipstick.

“You’re sad.”

“I know I’m sad.”

“It’s your birthday.”

“Great observation.”

“You shouldn’t be sad on your birthday.”

“Welcome to the real world Gigi.”

“Amy why is she sad?”

“Because she’s sad.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“Her parents are being assholes.” 

“Well that’s terrible parenting.”

This is where Hope responded.

“And we wonder why I’m fucked up.”

“You’re not fucked up, Hope.” Amy reached out to take her girlfriend's hand. Hope let her have it.

Hope studied herself in the mirror. She wanted to cry. She hated how she looked. You could still see the remnants of her crying, and she couldn’t seem to get her bottom lip to stop quivering.

“Gigi, please, could you give us a minute alone? We’ll be back to the party in a few minutes.” Amy looked over at the third girl.

Gigi huffed.

“Fine, but I don’t make any promises that Annabelle won’t drink all the champagne.” And with that, Gigi left the bathroom.

“Hey, don’t be so hard on yourself.” Amy slid across the counter, closer to Hope.

“I didn’t say anything…” Hope was astonished how Amy always knew what she was thinking.

“I know you, and you’re getting onto yourself for how you look and act right now. Stop it, because I love you and I never want you to change. Ever.” Amy leaned closer, pressing her lips against Hope’s.

Hope was a good kisser, and deepened the kiss quickly. Amy carefully took the closed lipstick tube out of Hope’s hand, setting it down and drawing Hope’s hand into her lap, still holding the other.

“As much as I would love to sit here and make out with you for the rest of the night, everyone else is waiting,” Hope whispered, pulling away from Amy.

“I know, but I can’t get myself to stop,” and Amy swooped back in for another kiss.

Eventually, they had to stop. Amy was not about to repeat the night before graduation. Seriously, she needed to stop making out with people in bathrooms at parties. 

Hope laughed, stepping back away from Amy, who was still sitting on the counter.

“I like hearing you laugh. It makes me feel like I’m a good girlfriend.” 

“The best one there is.”

“Happy birthday, babygirl.”

Hope smiled. Amy loved seeing her smile. She was gorgeous, and Amy couldn’t imagine life without her anymore.

“I love you, Amy.”

“I love you too.”


	2. Never Alone (Not Anymore)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope gets sick and Amy comes to take care of her, and Hope can't remember the last time she had someone care. Amy promises to never leave her and always be there for her, and Hope decides she likes that idea.

Hope coughed, then sneezed, then coughed again.

She felt so gross and dead and all she wanted to go was die.

Instead, she threw the covers up over her head and cuddled deeper into her blanket cocoon.

Hope was sick, and she wasn’t happy about it. Now, Hope wasn’t the type of girl who normally got sick, but when she did it hit her hard. 

She was in her dorm room at NYU, covered in about twenty blankets and still freezing. Everything hurt. She was wearing a Columbia sweatshirt she stole from Amy. Most of her height was in her legs, so she could easily fit into Amy’s tops and hoodies. It was cozy and smelled like Amy’s strawberry shampoo and lemon body wash.

That morning, she had woken up coughing with tears in her eyes, and she was so dizzy she barely could grab the trash can beside her desk before she threw up. She started crying, she hated throwing up so much. 

All Hope wanted was for Amy to come over and take care of her, as cheesy as that sounded. Amy would know what to do and make her feel better. 

She had texted Amy and told her what happened, and Amy said she would see when she could come over. Hope didn’t expect it to be for a little while longer. Amy had classes and it was only noon.

So Hope laid in bed, wanting to die.

Somewhere between texting Amy and Amy arriving, she somehow drifted off to sleep, but was awoken by a coughing fit after less than an hour.

“Knock knock,” The dorm room door opened and Amy slid into the room. Hope smiled a little. 

“Hey,” Her voice sounded hoarse and so, so sick.

“Hey,” Amy replied, walking over to her, she was holding a large storage box.

“What’s that?” Hope asked as Amy gently kissed the top of her head.

“Sick day essentials. I’m here to take care of you.” Amy’s smile was so sincere, Hope loved her so much.

“You don’t have to do this, Amy. You’ll get sick.” Hope shook her head.

“But I want to, so I’m going to stay here with you. I hate the thought of you being all alone when you’re so out of it like this.” Amy pushed a strand of hair out of Hope’s face that had fallen out of her messy bun. Amy smiled.

“Come on, I need to check your temperature.” Amy reached down and took the lid off her box. She pulled out a thermometer and sat down on the thin dorm bed, pressed between Hope and the edge of the bed.

“Open, under your tongue,” Amy slid the thermometer into Hope’s mouth and patted the top of her head.

“You treat me like a baby,” Hope mumbled, her words obscured by the thermometer in her mouth.

“Sorry. I don’t want to baby you, I just want to help you get better.” Amy kissed her cheek just as the thermometer beeped.

She took it out of her mouth and read the numbers plastered on the digital screen.

“102.7. Shit,” Amy whispered.

“Bad? Too high?” Hope was too far gone for full sentences. She was just so, so tired.

“Not super high, but we need to get it down some.” Amy set down the thermometer and wrapped an arm around Hope’s waist, pulling her into a hug.

She pulled out a flexible ice pack and a bottle of Gatorade from her box. She set them down on the bedside table.

“Yeah, these blankets are not helping.” She reached over one handed to pull away the top three blankets. In total there was actually only 7 blankets Hope was buried under, but it felt like a thousand.

Amy switched them around so she was only being covered by two lighter blankets. Amy helped her lean back onto the pillows and placed the ice pack across her forehead.

“Here, drink. It’s got electrolytes and shit. It’ll help you feel better.” Amy twisted off the cap and held the drink up to Hope’s lips. She drank a little, downing enough that Amy knew she wasn’t going to dehydrate, well, as long as she didn’t puke it back up.

“It’s cold,” Hope whispered, trying to cuddle into Amy closer for warmth.

“I know baby, but we’ve gotta get your fever down.” Amy gently combed a hand through Hope’s hair. Hope whimpered.

“Will you stay with me tonight?” Hope clutched at the fabric of Amy’s t-shirt, burying her face (and pressing the cold ice pack) into’s Amy’s shoulder.

“Of course, I’m not going anywhere.” Amy was petting at Hope’s hair, stroking it carefully as to not enrage Hope’s headache.

“Thank you,” Hope sounded like this was some big thing, like it was asking so much of Amy to stay with her while she was sick.

“It’s not a problem, Hope. I don’t want you to be alone while you’re sick. That’s not fair, because I know if I was sick you wouldn’t leave my side. I’m here for you, always.” Amy hugged Hope, gently rubbing her scalp as she tried to coax her into sleep.

“I’ve always been alone when I'm sick. Nobody ever cared. Not even my parents.” Hope was almost crying now, her voice wavering as she tried to hold back tears.

Amy wanted to cry at that. She knew that as the youngest of five, Hope was often forgotten. Her parents never really paid attention to her, and that was what caused her to lash out and become the mean girl she was in high school, but hearing that, how really, nobody cared for her, it hurt.

“Well, I’m here now, and you’re not going to get rid of me easily. I care about you, and I hate seeing you suffer. I;m going to stay with you everyday until you’re feeling 100% better, because You’re never going to be alone again, not as long as you have me.”

Amy couldn’t help herself. She knew she might get sick, but she gently peeled Hope off of her side and leaned down, pressing her lips to Hope’s. Hope didn’t really kiss back, too emotionally and physically tired to get into the feeling. But Amy didn’t mind, as long as Hope knew that she was safe and cared for here with Amy.

“You promise?” Hope asked, pulling away from the kiss and tangling her fingers in with Amy’s.

“I promise babygirl. And I’m not going anywhere anytime soon. So come on, you need to rest." Amy brushed another piece of hair out of Hope's face, letting go of her grip on Hope's shoulder and letting her crash back down onto her pillows. She tea adjusted the ice pack on Hope’s forehead and laid down next to her.

“Get some rest, I’ll be here when you wake up.” Amy let Hope lay her head on her shoulder and wrapped her arm around Hope, rubbing a hand up and down Hope’s back.

Hope closed her eyes, letting out a small sigh as Amy comforted her.

It felt nice to be loved, Hope decided. She promised herself that she wasn’t going to let Amy go as long as she lived, because Amy was the best damn thing she ever had.

  
  



	3. I Really Fucking Love You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Amy are taking a road trip during their Spring Break of 2021, but Amy has to find her phone first. Hope loves Amy very much, and Amy is always reciprocating that love.

Hope smiled over at Amy, and Amy smiled back. She reached over and slammed the trunk of her SUV shut.

“This is going to be awesome. Just you, me, your camera, and the great United States.” Amy climbed into the passenger seat, Hope sliding into the drivers side.

“Totally.” Hope agreed.

It was spring break. Hope and Amy were both in their freshman year of college after their gap years. Hope at NYU and Amy at Columbia. Sometimes Amy wished that she went to NYU so she could be closer to Hope, and Hope wished that she was smarter and could go to Columbia.

But their situation worked, and Amy found herself at Hope’s dorm room doorstep almost every night after a twenty-minute subway ride to the other campus.

The back and forth was tedious, but it was worth it when she fell into Hope’s arms and they got to spend time together.

They were having a road trip across the country. They both wanted to see things together for awhile. They would go home, but they only had 2 weeks. They wouldn’t get to see much if they drove straight to LA and stayed for a few days and drove back. So they were content to just drop by and see their friends, before they headed back along the southern part of the U.S.

Hope loved photography, which was why she was majoring in it, but her professional gigs were far and few between. Instead, she liked to use Amy as a model and the pictures came out beautiful. Her Instagram was entirely pictures of Amy and forests and sunset and more of Amy. She had never posted herself. Lots of people asked her to show her face, but she never did. Amy didn't mind. She rarely posted herself on her own account too. It was almost always Hope.

“Crap.” Amy muttered, searching around the car.

“What is it baby?” Hope asked, turning towards her.

“I think I left my phone in your dorm.” They had been packing all morning in Hope’s room, having packed up Amy’s last night.

“Come on, let’s go find it.” Hope killed the ignition and pocketed her keys.

They climbed out of Hope’s car and walked up the path from the parking lot to the dorms.

Inside her room, they searched everywhere for Amy’s phone. No luck. It wasn’t under the pillows or in a desk drawer. It was nowhere to be found.

“Call me from yours and we’ll see if we can find it.” Amy suggested, opening the bottom drawer of Hope’s desk.

Hope called her, and they heard the ringer go off immediately. They followed the sound.

“The trash can? Really? How did it get there?” Hope asked, pulling it out of the blue bin.

“Probably knocked it off last night in bed.” Amy had a smirk on her face. Hope sneered at her.

“That was fun, but we need to go. I want to get to the hotel before dark.” Hope smiled at the memories of last night.

She was about to hand it back to Amy when she looked down at the screen.

“That picture, really?” She cocked an eyebrow at Amy, looking between her and the phone.

Amy’s contact for Hope was labeled as “Babygirl” with a emoji of a happy face surrounded by hearts and a rainbow flag. Her picture was one she had taken recently. 

The girls had been on a ‘date’ and walking around tons of little shops in downtown New York City. They had been in a little gift shop, and Hope had tried on a leprechaun hat, a pair of silver and pink sunglasses and a purple feather boa. Proclaiming that she was “Gigi’s inner mood”, Amy had snorted and replied “You mean her outer mood.” and they laughed.

Amy had taken a few of Hope posing for the camera, but the one Amy had as her profile picture was one she had taken without Hope knowing, where she had been laughing after she thought the camera was off. She looked so happy, and that was how Amy wanted to see her princess everyday.

“Yeah, it’s cute.” Amy blushed, taking her phone back from Hope.

Hope let out a small giggle and surveyed the room one last time.

“Let’s go.” she reached out for Amy’s hand, and Amy let her have it. They walked out of the dorm, hand in hand, and Hope locked the door behind her.

Back in the car, they started on their journey. They were headed to Pennsylvania that day, then the next they would make it halfway across Ohio before they stopped to find a good spot for a photoshoot. There were beautiful forests out in the countryside of Ohio that Hope wanted to check out.

Really, in the long run, Hope didn’t care where they ended up, as long as she had Amy by her side and a camera at her hip, she could make magic out of anything.


	4. Here For All The Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope doesn't know how to confront her feelings about Amy. When Amy comes back from Botswana she's prepared to keep Hope as safe as she can and always be there for her.

Hope loved Amy, so, so much.

In high school, she had been too scared to pin after her. She knew that what she said was contradicting. She didn’t like meek people, but Hope was sure she might just be the meekest of the bunch.

Amy was so good. Everything she did was perfect and amazing and Hope fell deeper in love with her everyday. But it was hard to explain her feelings when they were miles and miles away.

They skyped each other once or twice a week, depending on Amy’s internet connection. They texted all the time though, and Amy had said that she talked to Hope more than Molly most weeks.

Hope felt bad about that. She didn’t want to take Molly’s best friend away. And she knew that Molly didn’t like her very much.

On one of their skype calls, Hope almost started crying. She had so many pent up emotions and she had no one to talk to and really she needed a therapist but didn’t trust one to keep her secrets. She didn’t care that they weren’t legally allowed to, she knew most did tell others and she couldn’t afford to press charges.

So Hope had almost cried. In front of Amy. Like an idiot. She had cried in front of Amy before, in the bathroom after their hookup when she ran into the shower, but Amy hadn’t seen her really. So this was practically a first.

“And then I said- Hope? Are you okay?” Amy stopped in the middle of her story to look over at Hope. Hope wiped at her eyes, scooting off to the far side of the screen.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Continue.” Hope tried to make her voice sound stable but it came out broken.

“You know you can talk to me, right? If you’re sad or something.” Amy rested her chin in her hands. Hope sniffled.

“Just in pain. Period cramps, y’know.” Hope’s lie was perfect, and Amy believed her in a second.

“Oh, okay.” And Amy went back to her story.

Hope dodged a bullet with that one, but it was close. That night she curled up on her bed and cried. She had no idea how to tell Amy how she felt. And she didn’t know if Amy would feel the same way.

Amy worried about Hope, she knew something was wrong. But she wasn’t questioning her because she really couldn’t lose Hope right now. So she pushed through even if she knew Hope needed help. When she got home, she would help her.

It wasn’t for a week after Amy came back to the US that she trekked across the city to see Hope. They were both home in LA, and she wanted to see her.

She knocked on her door, and Hope’s father appeared. Hope was lingering behind.

Amy smiled. “Hey, is Hope around?” It was a stupid question, beacause Hope was peering at her through the gap between her father and the doorframe.

He stepped back and let Hope come into the doorway. Geez, Amy looked up at her. It felt like she had grown over the past year, even though Amy knew she hadn’t. 

“Hey.” Amy sounded small, and she watched as Hope began to smile.

“Hey. I missed you.” Hope seemed happy, and Amy was happy for that. Her dad was home, which was something she knew Hope loved. With her dad working as a sergeant in the US army, he was deployed a lot. He had missed her prom, her 18th birthday, even her graduation.

“Come on in, I’m just packing up a few last boxes.” Hope called her in, and Amy followed her into her bedroom.

“Where are you headed?” Amy asked, looking around at the boxes piled up around Hope.

“Road tripping to New York for college. My photography class has required summer school classes I need to take, and they start in three weeks. I wanted to go ahead and get settled into my dorm before I started school.” Hope looked around, accessing the last things that needed to be packed.

“Road trip. That sounds fun.” Amy was looking at Hope, studying the side of her face from the angle she was standing at. God, Hope was gorgeous.

“Yeah, I want to see the country. Really, when I backpacked around for my gap year, I was thinking about the world and all the cool places to see overseas, but the United States has some cool places to visit too.” Hope picked up something off her empty dresser.

"What's that?”Amy asked, standing up on her toes to try and see over Hope's shoulder.

"Nothing.”And Hope shoved it into her pocket and turned towards another box and began to tape is shut.

Amy was the one to notice the piece of paper fall out of her pocket though, a hole at the bottom Hope hadn't seen.

Amy scooped it up, and was about to hand it back to Hope when she saw her name written on it.

**_Amy Morrison_ **

Amy was intrigued. The paper was folded and her name written across it in pretty ink calligraphy was all she could see. She didn't know Hope did calligraphy. It was cool.

"Hey, Hope, I uh- need to use the restroom.”Amy made up the lie on the spot, but she needed to get away and see what this paper was.

"Turn left in the hall do down third door on the right.” Hope spilled out immediately, not turning around from what she was doing.

Amy raced down the hall and into the bathroom, locking the door behind her.

She unfolded the crumpled paper. Written on it was a note stretching the length of the entire page. It was obviously written in Hope's neat handwriting, but not as pretty as her name on the front. It was some type of mix between cursive and print.

**_Amy,_ **

**_I don't know how to say this to you. I don't want to say it, but I know I have to._ **

**_I've been going through a lot, recently. I've always had depression, and it's spiralling. But thinking about you, it helps keep me together. You're one of the only things that keeps me going. I love you, always have. Since we moved here and I had absolutely no friends, you were someone who was nice to me even when I was being the worst bitch. You helped me so much without realizing it. And that night in Nick's bathroom, I finally had what I never thought in a million years would fall into my hands. I just wanted to keep you close and never let go, but I messed everything up and here we are._ **

**_Really, I wrote this because I needed to pour my feelings out. Maybe you'll never see it, and a deep part of me hopes you never do. Someday maybe I won't be so meek and I'll confront my own demons. But now isn't that point._ ** **_  
_ ** **_Bottom line, I love you. I've been head over heels for you since the first day, since before I ever knew I liked girls, and before I was pretty (not that I am now btw)_ **

**_I could text all of this out and send it to you. I could write this all out and save it in the notes app of my phone. But I couldn't trust myself to keep it private and to keep everything here away from you. So I'm writing it down and the fate of this paper might not ever be discovered. Maybe I'll stuff it under my pillow to forget about it. Maybe I'll burn it in the backyard. Maybe I'll walk up and shove it into your hands and walk away before you have a chance to stop me._ **

**_Maybe you'll read this, it might be because I gave it to you or because you found it after I left for New York. Either way, just know that I can't imagine days anymore that we don't talk, and I don't giggle at my phone like an idiot._ **

**_I really, really love you, even if I don't know if you feel the same._ **

**_Sincerely,_ **

**_Hope_ **

Amy teared up reading the paper. She had no idea that Hope felt so intensely about her, but couldn't find the words to say it. Amy folded back up the paper and hugged it close to her chest. She sighed.

Amy felt so many of those same things, but she was just as shy as Hope. She had no idea how to tell her, because the fact that she even had this note was an invasion of privacy, and Amy felt terrible about that.

So pocketed the paper and walked back to Hope's bedroom. Hope was packing her comforter into a large box.

Amy came up behind her and wrapped her arms around Hope's waist, hugging her.

"Hope?” She hummed, resting her cheek against Hope's back.

"Amy?" Hope asked back, shoving the blanket into the box.

"You know how much I love you, right? Over all the months, I've waited so long to come home to you. I can't imagine going to college without you by my side. All this time. Any time we didn't talk I would go to sleep so sad. You’re such a light in my life, and I love you too.” Amy squeezed Hope's hands as they intertwined with hers.

“Amy? Wha-what are you talking about?” Hope was utterly confused. She had forgotten about the note, really. She had assumed the paper was a parking ticket when she picked it up. They were littered all over her room. She didn’t ever really pay them. Amy didn’t need to know that. She was trying to be better about the issue, but it was a habit that was hard to break.

“The note. It fell out of your pocket. It had my name on it and I got curious.” Hope let out a small gasp.

“Oh, I forgot about it. I’m… sorry you had to read that.” Hope kneeled down onto her bed, letting Amy climb off her back. Amy rounded the bed to sit in front of her. She took Hope’s hands into hers.

“It’s okay to not understand you’re feelings. I get it. I’m here for you, and I’m here to listen. I’ve got you, and you can feel safe with me. I love you, I always have. I realize that now. You don’t have to be scared to show your feelings.” Amy leaned forward so her face was hovering in front of Hope’s.

Amy heard Hope’s breath hitched.

“Can I kiss you?” she whispered. Amy didn’t want to force anything on Hope.

“Yes.” Hope’s voice was just as quiet as Amy’s.

Amy leaned in and gently pulled Hope into a kiss. Amy pulled her left hand out of Hope’s to rest on the side of the taller girl’s face.

Slowly, she let Hope deepen the kiss. It was nice. Amy had missed this while she was away in Botswana. Once she had a taste, she couldn’t get enough. Hope tasted sweet with something spicy, entirely her own. Her strawberry chapstick tasted like heaven against her lips.

Amy pulled away, leaning back in and pressing a kiss to the tip of Hope’s nose.

Hope seemed slightly stunned.

“I never thought you would say that,” Hope’s eyes locked on Amy’s. Amy studied her face. The beauty marks on her cheek, the golden flecks in her deep brown eyes, the furrow of her brow as she was lost in thought. Amy had never thought she looked so pretty.

“Well I did. And I love you, so much. You don’t have to say it back, but it’s true.” Amy brushed a lock of hair out of Hope’s face.

“I-I love you too,” Hope stuttered. She began to blush.

Amy hugged her, and Hope leaned back, pulling them both onto the bare mattress on her bed.

“I’m always going to be here for you. No matter what happens.” Amy rested her head on Hope’s chest.

“And I’m always going to love you, forever and always.” Hope sighed, burying her face into Amy’s hair.

They ended up falling asleep like that, curled up on Hope’s bare mattress, leaving the boxes forgotten. 

Amy made a promise to herself to always be there for Hope, and Hope finally had all she could ever want. Whatever happened, Amy was going to be there for her and she was determined to always stay by Amy’s side in return.


	5. Sunrise Smiles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hope and Amy wake up to take pictures of the sunrise form their New York apartment.

Hope’s alarm began to quietly sound at five in the morning. The gentle chiming sound woke her up and she quickly reached over to turn it off. 

She heard Amy turn over next to her. Amy’s arms wrapped around Hope’s waist as she tried to pull her back into bed.

“No. Too early,” Amy grumbled, latching on to her.

Amy was not a morning person, Hope was the exact opposite. Hope loved waking up before the sun to take pictures out on the balcony of the sunrise. Amy liked to sleep as late as she could. No matter how quiet Hope’s alarm was it almost always woke Amy up, which Amy wasn’t a fan of.

“Come on, come with me. You’ll like it. The sunrise is so pretty.” Hope turned around and sat up. Amy rested her head in Hope’s lap.

“Only if we can get Starbucks after.” Hope gently raked a hand through Amy’s messy hair, smoothing out the tangles.

“Sure-” Hope laughed “- whatever you want.”

Amy smiled and let Hope help her out of bed. Hope pulled on a sweatshirt over the tank top she slept in and adjusted her flannel pajama pants. She slid a pair of slides onto her bare feet and grabbed her camera off of the dresser the two girls shared. Amy pulled one of Hope’s hoodies over her head and pulled on a pair of fuzzy socks, struggling into her converse as she followed Hope out of the bedroom. 

She caught up to her and grabbed her free hand. She rubbed the sleep out of her eyes as they walked out onto the balcony.

Hope was lucky she could afford such a nice apartment in the heart of New York City. She was lucky that she had gotten enough scholarships to college so that she could use her college fund for her backpacking trip and to pay for her apartment. Amy had just graduated from Columbia in May and now in July they had moved in together finally. The balcony overlooked a beautiful scape of the city and was perfect for taking pictures of the sunrise and sunset.

Amy slumped down into the cushioned bench on the balcony. Hope sat down next to her as she began to play with the setting on her camera to adjust it to be perfect for her sunrise photographs. Amy laid her head on her shoulder, just staring out at the skyline.

“I don’t know how you do it,” Amy mumbled as Hope set her camera down in her lap and wrapped an arm around Amy.

“Do what?” she asked, pressing a kiss to the top of Amy’s bedhead.

“Be a functioning human at ungodly hours of the morning.” Amy said, dead serious. Hope giggled at that.

“Maybe it’s that ‘basic hot girl’ energy.” Hope teased, resting her head on top of Amy's.

“Oh my god, don’t remind me about that.” Amy rolled her eyes. Five years ago she had been such a different person than she was today, Amy still didn’t know how Hope still loved her.

“Hey, you were right. I was a bitch.” Hope rubbed a hand up and down Amy’s arm.

“Yeah, you were. But I still love you. Because you’re so much more than that. You’re smart and funny and so talented and you can always cheer me up. You make me happy, and I love you.”

Hope took her hands off of Amy and grabbed her camera, raising it up to take a picture of the sky as it was painted with beautiful light blue orange and purple hues just before the sun began to rise.

“I love you too. You’re so much more than you think you are, and you’re so much more than a meek girl who cries in the bathroom at parties or is only useful as a doormat for her wife.”

Amy leaned up and gently kissed Hope’s cheek.

“That’s sweet. And she’s not my wife. If anything, I want you to be my wife.” Hope blushed, smiling. 

Amy grabbed Hope’s camera, leaning away and pointing it at Hope.

“You’re ten times prettier than the sunrise.”   
Amy snapped the photo as Hope blushed madly, a huge smile on her face.


End file.
